Teacher preparation programs in California are governed by standards established by the California Commission on Teacher Credentialing (CCTC). In September 1998, pursuant to Senate Bill 2042 (SB2042), California's recent comprehensive teacher credentialing legislation, the Commission launched an extensive effort on standards and assessment development that led to the development and adoption of new Standards of Quality and Effectiveness for Professional Teacher Preparation Programs leading to a preliminary teaching credential in California. As a credential program sponsor and an early adopter of the SB2042 standards, Notre Dame de Namur University (NDNU), the only four-year accredited university in San Mateo County, endeavored to include each of the elements of SB2042 in its teacher preparation programs. Credential programs at NDNU place particular emphasis on NDNU's core values and competencies that promote social justice by creating equitable classrooms where: (1) all students learn and achieve at high levels; (2) there is little variation--or a small "gap"--between the levels at which students are achieving; and (3) there is no correlation between a student's level of achievement and his/her background characteristics (e.g., gender, race, primary language, family income level). How has NDNU responded to the mandate of SB2042 as a small independent university with specific core values and competencies that are somewhat different from the exceedingly prescriptive SB2042 standards? This article describes the complexity of NDNU's work in redesigning its programs, the challenges it faces striving to maintain institutional integrity while responding to SB2042, and some of the strategies that NDNU developed to address these challenges in order to design and implement a quality program that is in compliance with SB2042 and yet maintains its integrity as an institution with core values and competencies. This article also addresses why the substantive changes in NDNU's program will result in preparing teachers who are able to create equitable learning environments. (Contains 1 figure and 1 note.)